Dear WHOA Supporters and Members,
Congratulations! WE DID IT!
Last night, President Donald J. Trump signed the 2020 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, making the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) law and WHOA’s vision a reality. According to ‘GovTrack’, during the 116th Congress, only 2% of all legislation introduced was actually enacted into law. WHOA beat the odds and, as a long shot, reached our goal of drug and medication reform and a gold standard anti-doping program overseen and managed by The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). After years of negotiation and compromise to fulfill our mission, today marks a turning point toward a bright future for American horse racing, the health and welfare of its horses and jockeys and the integrity of its sport.
Credit is due to you, the more than 2,000 individual WHOA members who have taken a stand in support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. Thanks to those of you who made trips to Washington to lobby for the bill, who testified before congressional committees, those who gave freely of their professional time and talents and those who supported our WHOA PAC, those who kept the discussion alive on the backside and in the press to swing the tide of industry consciousness and those who lobbied their representatives for congressional support. Hand-in-hand, we have worked diligently to reach this monumental day for our horses, our sport and racing’s future.
WHOA’s sincere appreciation goes to House Sponsors, Congressmen Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Andy Barr (R-KY), both of whom worked together in a bi-partisan fashion to build a strong foundation for federal legislation to keep our goals and reform efforts alive over the last six years, during three Congresses. It was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who brought the remaining diverse industry factions together in support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. He carried it across the finish line in the Senate with a bill that will not only bring about drug and medication reform and the creation of a gold-standard anti-doping program, but also with an important track safety initiative. These three leaders were champions of our cause. We couldn’t have done it without them.
Today’s success was brought about by a broad-based industry effort. WHOA, a founding member of the Coalition for Horseracing Integrity, would like to thank our CHRI industry and animal welfare partners. It truly took a village.
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